At Seventeen Lyrics - Tara Maclean

I learned the truth at seventeen 

That love was meant for beauty queens 

And high school girls with clear skinned smiles 

Who married young and then retired 

The valentines I never knew 

The Friday night charades of youth 

Were spent on one more beautiful 

At seventeen I learned the truth... 

And those of us with ravaged faces 

Lacking in the social graces 

Desperately remained at home 

Inventing lovers on the phone 

Who called to say "come dance with me" 

And murmured vague obscenities 

It isn't all it seems at seventeen... 

A brown eyed girl in hand me downs 

Whose name I never could pronounce 

Said: "Pity please the ones who serve 

They only get what they deserve" 

The rich relationed hometown queen 

Marries into what she needs 

With a guarantee of company 

And haven for the elderly... 

So remember those who win the game 

Lose the love they sought to gain 

In debitures of quality and dubious integrity 

Their small-town eyes will gape at you 

In dull surprise when payment due 

Exceeds accounts received at seventeen... 

To those of us who knew the pain 

Of valentines that never came 

And those whose names were never called 

When choosing sides for basketball 

It was long ago and far away 

the world was younger than today 

when dreams were all they gave for free 

to ugly duckling girls like me... 

We all play the game, and when we dare 

We cheat ourselves at solitaire 

Inventing lovers on the phone 

Repenting other lives unknown 

That call and say: "Come on, dance with me" 

And murmur vague obscenities 

At ugly girls like me, at seventeen...